Patent application title: Conservation plant pot

Abstract:

A plant pot system has at least one plant pot with side walls, an open top
and a bottom wall for containing planted soil that receives a routine
watering through the open top, the plant pot having two parallel rows of
a number of through holes aligned circumferentially, each of the through
holes being blocked by a removable closure; one or more additional pot
members with the same number of through holes at levels corresponding to
the through holes of the first plant pot; and at least one water leveling
members for fluidly connecting any desired number of laterally disposed
plant.

Claims:

1. A plant pot system comprising:a) at least one plant pot with side
walls, an open top and a bottom wall for containing planted soil that
receives a routine watering through the open top, the plant pot having
multiple parallel rows of a predetermined number of horizontal through
holes aligned circumferentially;b) removable closures for closing the
through holes of the plant pot to keep the pot watertight; andc) water
channeling means for insertion into the pot's holes in place of the
removable closures to extend a single supply of water at the selected one
of the plant pots externally thereof and further into a desired number of
laterally disposed plant pots through the fluid connections by the water
channeling means.

2. The plant pot system of claim 1, wherein the water channeling means is
formed by a length of a hollow tube sized to fit tightly into the through
hole.

3. The plant pot system of claim 2, wherein the tube extends straight and
has slanted ends at the opposite sides facing the same direction to
extend the area of opening toward a water supply through the soil in one
of two adjacent pots connected via the tubular water channeling means.

4. The plant pot system of claim 3, wherein the tubular water channeling
means is flexible so that two units of the water channeling means are
threaded together to extend the channel of water.

5. The plant pot system of claim 3, wherein the tubular water channeling
means has two filtering members at the opposite ends for filtering out
soil or other foreign materials.

6. The plant pot system of claim 1, wherein the water channeling means is
formed by a spongy connector rod for fluidly connecting two adjacent
pots, the connector rod having a sponge core and an outer shell and
terminated by symmetrically slanted edges, whereby connector rod
functions as a tube that contains a semipermeable membrane for allowing
the water to flow from the side of watered pot to the dry pot.

7. The plant pot system of claim 1, wherein the water channeling means is
formed into a bent tube sized to fit tightly into the through hole, the
bent tube having a vertical position in which one of its ends penetrates
any one of the pot's holes near the bottom wall and the opposite end
extends outwardly of the pot facing upwardly to provide an extra water
reservoir.

8. The plant pot system of claim 7, wherein the bent tube has a horizontal
position between two adjacent pots for connecting them at through holes
facing obliquely to each other in order to make a circular arrangement of
the pots.

9. The plant pot system of claim 7, wherein the bent tube may be adjusted
to have various angular postures.

10. A plant pot system comprising:a) at least one plant pot with side
walls, an open top and a bottom wall for containing planted soil that
receives a routine watering through the open top, the plant pot having
multiple parallel rows of a predetermined number of horizontal through
holes aligned circumferentially;b) removable closures for closing the
through holes of the plant pot to keep the pot watertight; andc) water
channeling means for insertion into the pot's holes in place of the
removable closures, the water channeling means including a hollow tube
that extends straight and has slanted ends at the opposite sides facing
the same direction to extend the area of opening toward a water supply
through the soil in one of two adjacent pots connected via the tubular
water channeling means and a bent tube sized to fit tightly into the
through hole, the bent tube having a vertical position in which one of
its ends penetrates any one of the pot's holes near the bottom wall and
the opposite end extends outwardly of the pot facing upwardly to provide
an extra water reservoir and an optional horizontal position between two
adjacent pots for connecting them at through holes facing obliquely to
each other in order to make a circular arrangement of the pots, whereby a
single supply of water at the selected one of the plant pots extends
externally thereof and further into a desired number of laterally
disposed plant pots through the fluid connections by the water channeling
means.

11. The plant pot system of claim 10, wherein the pot is made of a molding
material with the through holes formed simultaneously therewith.

12. The plant pot system of claim 10, wherein the pot is made of a molding
material with the through holes formed by boring through the walls of the
pot.

13. The plant pot system of claim 10, wherein the material for the pot is
selected from a group of terra cotta, stone, wood and plastic.

14. The plant pot system of claim 10, wherein the tubular water channeling
means is flexible so that two units of the water channeling means are
threaded together to extend the channel of water.

15. The plant pot system of claim 10, wherein the tubular water channeling
means has two filtering members at the opposite ends for filtering out
the soil or other foreign materials.

16. The plant pot system of claim 10, wherein the water channeling means
is formed by a spongy connector rod for fluidly connecting two adjacent
pots, the connector rod having a sponge core and an outer shell and
terminated by symmetrically slanted edges, whereby connector rod
functions as a tube that contains a semipermeable membrane for allowing
the water to flow from the side of watered pot to the dry pot.

17. A plant pot system comprising:a) at least three plant pots all having
side walls, an open top and a bottom wall for containing planted soil
that receives a routine watering through the open top, the at least three
plant pots all having multiple parallel rows of a predetermined number of
horizontal through holes aligned circumferentially;b) removable closures
for closing the through holes of the at least three plant pots to keep
the at least three plant pots all watertight; andc) at least three
flexible tubes inserted between the holes of the least three plant pots
in place of the removable closures to extend a single supply of water at
a selected one of the plant pots externally thereof and further into a
desired number of laterally disposed plant pots through the fluid
connections by the at least three flexible tubes, wherein each of the at
least three plant pots is connected to other plant pots by the at least
three flexible tubes.

18. The plant pot system of claim 17, wherein the at least three flexible
tubes is formed by a 10 length of a hollow tube sized to fit tightly into
the through hole.

19. The plant pot system of claim 17, wherein the at least three flexible
tubes extend straight and have slanted ends at the opposite sides facing
the same direction to extend the area of opening toward a water supply
through the soil in one of two adjacent pots connected via the at least
three flexible tubes.

Description:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001]A. Field of the Invention

[0002]The present invention relates to a plant pot. More particularly, the
present invention relates to a modular plant pot that can be grouped with
multitudes of similar modular plant pots in fluid communications among
them to automatically exchange a single water supply to any one pot with
the rest of the pots in the same group minimizing wastes of daily
planting water that constitutes a significant portion of water
consumption in the nation.

[0003]B. Description of the Prior Art

[0004]A wide variety of self watering plant pots have been patented. U.S.
Pat. No. 5,272,835 to Stern describes an example of self-watering pot
comprising a doubled-walled container having an irrigation chamber
embedded. The irrigation chamber contains a plurality of serially
arranged irrigation ducts that reside just above the soil surface. A
transport channel connects the irrigation chamber to a water input pipe
extending through from the container's outside wall. A regulating valve
is attached to the other end of the input pipe promoting optimal plant
growth and a water supply line is attached to the input side of the
valve. The water supply is turned on causing water to flow from the
valve, through the input line, into the transport channel, and into the
irrigation chamber. Finally, the water passes through the irrigation
ducts and is uniformly distributed onto the soil surface.

[0005]This and other pot improvements have been made around each unit pot
structure to better control the watering in its time, amount and place to
release in the given pot body. However, as the national drought stricken
and water conservation becomes the state of problem, there is an urgent
need for an advanced approach to draw an excess potting water before it
may be undesirably overflowing or over saturate the pot soil. At the same
time, the solution should incur a negligible cost increase to justify the
trouble of replacing the existing pots or repotting and it should be
simple enough for a quick start to save water instantly.

[0006]In view of the foregoing, an object of the present invention is to
provide a modular plant pot for cooperating with neighboring pots of the
same type to share a single source of water at the moment of wetting the
pots.

[0007]Another object of the present invention is to provide minor
modifications to a conventional pot and to use common materials for the
fluid communications between the modular pots.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008]A plant pot according to the present invention normally operates in
a group of modular components although in its singular form the pot
provides a unique advantage of controlling water to protect the plant
from over watering. The pot part can be made of plastic or ceramic.

[0009]The plant pot may comprise a wider open top and a narrower bottom
wall for containing planted soil that receives a routine watering through
the open top. Additionally, the plant pot is provided with eight round
holes of which four holes are positioned circumferentially at a lower
level distanced one fourth of the height of the pot from its bottom and
the same number of upper round holes at about three fourths of the height
of the pot from the bottom line.

[0010]Arrangement of the modular pots is completely up to the imagination
of a gardener who can have four such pots placed on a substantially flat
surface and arranged in a rectangular pattern. A group of five pots may
form a cross pattern of plants.

[0011]Each pot is preferably placed to face its neighboring pot directly
with reference to the holes. A straight tubular connector penetrates the
respective opposing holes of the adjacent pots for evenly distribute
water poured at any one of the connected pots.

[0012]The connector may be made of semi-rigid material for making a
watertight fitting with conventional solid materials of pots. At the time
of watering, when the supplied water starts to wet the pot with the
planted soil, it immediately saturates the soil and overflows through the
connectors in the holes of the lateral pots. In the pot group of four,
each pot will have four water holes left unused. In order to block these
holes, multiple plugs are added. The plug may be made of a short length
of a tube having an end extending obliquely like the slanted ends of the
connector. The opposite end of the plug tube may extend perpendicular to
the longitudinal axis of the tube. Then, a disc core may be driven into
the inner diameter of the plug tube to complete a plug. The plug tube may
be made of cork. Alternatively, the whole plug may be made of a cork
stopper sized to block the hole tightly. Conversely, a solid tube, which
is elastic or a rubbery member may replace the plug tube. The plant pots
have the connector connection in the sidewall of the pot.

[0013]The connector having opposite ends facing the same direction such as
upwards will offer a larger water inlet/outlet opened. Because the
opposite ends are symmetrical the connector can't be inserted in a wrong
direction into the pots. Thus, the connector provides an effective
channel for transferring water from the saturated pot to the thirsty
peripheral pots without regard to its lateral orientation. The connectors
may be directly joined together with ease to extend the distance between
the pots as needed. A filter may be plugged into each end of the
connector in order to keep the interior of the connector from being
blocked by outgrowth of the plant root or softened soil at watering.

[0014]An arcuate connector may be additionally provided. The connector may
comprise a single arch of an imaginary circle or combined radii. The
arcuate connector can be used to control single pot wherein two
connectors penetrate the selected lower water holes, which may be
opposite or at right angle to each other within a body of pot.
Alternatively, the connector may be used as a right-angle connector for
laterally connecting two pots positioned obliquely. A spongy connector
rod may also be provided for fluidly connecting two adjacent pots. The
connector rod may comprise a sponge core and an outer shell and is
terminated by symmetrically slanted edges. The outer shell may be a tube
of coated paper or a thin plastic pipe cut to shape. Osmosis occurs
through the connector rod resulting in movement of water to level the
water volume of the two sides.

[0015]Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example
with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a group of modular pots including a
planted pot fluidly connected to three other pots with emptied interiors
for the sake of simplicity.

[0017]FIG. 2 is a plan view of the modular pots grouped in a rectangular
pattern for synchronized watering according to the present invention.

[0018]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a shorter tubular plug for blocking
the water holes in the pots.

[0019]FIG. 4 is a plan view of a tubular connector for connecting two
opposing water holes of the adjacent pots.

[0020]FIG. 5 shows two connectors press fitted together to double the
length of a connector.

[0021]FIG. 6 is a longitudinal cross sectional view of a straight
connector similar to the connector of FIG. 4 also showing optional
filtering means installed.

[0022]FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view of a right-angle connector for
laterally connecting two pots positioned obliquely.

[0023]FIG. 8 shows a single pot with two right-angle connectors used to
control excess water.

[0024]FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view of a spongy connector rod for
fluidly connecting two adjacent pots.

[0025]FIG. 10 is a plan view of the pot group in a cross pattern.

[0026]Similar reference numbers denote corresponding features throughout
the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0027]With reference to FIG. 1, a group of plant pots 10 according to the
present invention is shown constructed in conventional manner except a
matrix of watering holes on the sidewalls 12 of the pot 10.

[0028]The plant pot may also comprise a wider open top 14 and a narrower
bottom wall 16 for containing planted soil 18 that receives a routine
watering through the open top 14. The plant pot 10 may be in the form of
a deep round vessel that is provided with eight round holes of which four
holes 20 are positioned circumferentially at a lower level distanced one
fourth of the height of the pot 10 from its bottom. The holes 20 may be
formed at the same time of molding the pot 10 or bored through the pot
walls horizontally and in parallel with the bottom walls 16. Then, the
angular distance between the holes 20 becomes 45 degrees facing four
different directions. Directly above the lower holes 20 are formed the
same number of upper round holes 22 at about three fourth of the height
of the pot 10 from the bottom line.

[0029]In the illustrated example, there are four such pots 10 placed on a
substantially flat surface and arranged in a rectangular pattern. As
shown in FIG. 2, each pot 10 is placed to face its neighboring pot 10
directly with reference to the holes 20. A straight tubular connector 24
penetrates the respective opposing holes 20 of the adjacent pots 10 to
evenly distribute water poured at any one of the connected pots 10.
Simply taking a cut of a variety of tube products may make the connector
24. It may be of a plastic or rubber material or other types of synthetic
resin. A coated paper tube may be used for the connector 10 as long as it
supports itself and has a good resistance against water penetration. Even
an organic material of hollow bamboo cut may be used to obtain the same
benefit of the invention.

[0030]Considerations are necessary to make a good sealed connection
between the pots. Since conventional pots are normally made from terra
cotta, stone, wood or plastic material, which is rigid, a relatively soft
tube material is preferred for the connector 24 to establish a tight fit
into the hole 20. Conversely, when a rigid tube is to be used for the
connector 24, each hole 20 may be lined with a soft sleeve or an elastic
coating to secure a tight union between the connector 24 and hole 20
eliminating a leak of the valuable resource of water.

[0031]At the time of watering, when the supplied water starts to wet the
pot 10 with the planted soil 18, it immediately saturates the soil and
overflows through the connectors 24 to the holes 22 of the surrounding
pots 10. In the pot group of four, each pot 10 may be connected to two
adjacent pots and have four water holes 20 left unused. In order to block
these holes 20, multiple plugs are necessary. FIG. 3 shows a short length
of a tube 26 having two cross cut edges 28. One of the edges 28 may be
cut obliquely to have an acute tip to facilitate inserting the tube 26
into the hole 20 of the pot 10.

[0032]The tube 26 may be of the same material to make the connector 24.
The tube 26 forms a plug shell into which a disc core 30 may be driven to
complete a tubular plug 36. The disc core 30 may be made of cork.
Alternatively, the whole plug 36 may be made of a cork stopper sized to
block the hole 20 tightly. Conversely, a solid tube, which is elastic or
a rubbery member may be used as a plug 36.

[0033]The connector 24 shown in plan view in FIG. 4 comprises a tubular
body 38 having opposite ends 40 facing the same direction such as
upwards. Upon insertion of the connector 24 in the pot 10 in this
orientation, the connector 24 will offer a larger water inlet/outlet 40
opened due to its ends 42 facing obliquely upwards. Because the opposite
ends 42 are symmetrical the connector 24 can't be inserted in a wrong
direction between the front and back into the pots 10. Thus, the
connector 24 provides an effective channel for transferring water from
the saturated pot to the thirsty peripheral pots without regard to its
lateral orientation. The connector end 42 may have an obtuse edge 44 to
handle safely and yet it is sufficiently acute to penetrate the hole 20
of the pot 10 with ease.

[0034]FIG. 5 shows that two connectors 24 are joined directly together by
inserting the protruding edge 44 of the end 42 of one connector 24 into
the large opening 40 of another connector 24 to lengthen the distance
between the pots 10 as the plants in the pots grow to take more space.

[0035]Referring to FIG. 6, the connector 24 is shown in cross section
along line 6-6 of FIG. 4. A filter 46 may be plugged into each end 42 of
the connector 24 in order to keep the interior of the connector 24 from
being blocked by outgrowth of the plant root or softened soil at
watering. The filter 46 maybe a screen filter in a type utilizing a rigid
or flexible screen to separate sand and other fine particles out of
water. Typical screen materials may include stainless steel (mesh),
polypropylene, and nylon.

[0036]The connector 24 may be made of a continuous supply of tubular body
38 cut obliquely to form the two ends 42 at even pitch so that every two
neighboring connectors 24 are formed simultaneously with the same length
and shaped ends 42. The oblique ends 42 of the respective connectors 24
may extend along 45 degrees toward the middle of the connector 24 with
reference to the longitudinal axis of the tubular body 38.

[0037]An arcuate connector 48 shown in FIG. 7 is similarly based on a
tubular body 50. The connector 48 may comprise a single arch of a circle
or combined radii. The illustrated connector 48 has a middle portion 52
of a greater radius than those of the opposite end portions 54.
Additionally, filters 56 may be installed to keep the interior of the
connector 48 clean. The arcuate connector 48 may be used for different
purposes. First, it can be used to control single pot 10 as shown in FIG.
8 wherein two connectors 48 penetrate the selected lower water holes 20,
which may be opposite or at right angle to each other within a body of
pot 10. The rest of the holes 20, 26 remain to be blocked by plugs 36. In
order to hold the excess water, the arcuate connectors 48 are directed to
face upward functioning as an extra reservoir. The angular position of
the connector 48 may be set by the user who can push the connector 48 at
a desired angle into the soil of the pot 10. Over a duration of repeated
watering, the soil will set the positions of the connectors 48 in the pot
10. Alternatively, the connector 48 may have an internal bendable
material such as a metal wire frame to hold the user's preferance of what
position the connector 48 will remain. The filter 56 at each end of the
connector 48 is optional and will prevent a foreign material from
traveling in and out of the pot 10.

[0038]FIG. 9 shows a spongy connector rod 58 for fluidly connecting two
adjacent pots 10. The connector rod 58 may comprise a sponge core 60 and
an outer shell 62 and is terminated by symmetrically slanted edges 64.
The outer shell 62 may be a tube of coated paper or a thin plastic pipe
cut to shape. Osmosis is defined as the passage of water from a region of
high water concentration through a semipermeable membrane to a region of
low water concentration. The connector rod 58 may function as a tube that
contains a semipermeable membrane, whereby the water molecules would flow
from the side of watered pot to the dry pot. This flow of water, from the
higher water concentration to the lower water concentration, results in
movement of water to level the water volume of the two sides.

[0039]Referring further to a second array of the pots in FIG. 10, the
operation of the present invention will be described. Encircling the pot
10 in the center, four more pots may be positioned so that adjacent pots
have their corresponding holes 20 or 22 face directly opposite to each
other. Each of the eight holes 20 of each pot 10 is initially closed by
the plug 36.

[0040]The respective pots 10 may then allow potting with a plant and soil
as a normal plant pot would. Due to the plugs 36 preoccupying the inner
space of the connecting holes 20, 22 and further into the interior of the
pots 10, placing both ends of the connectors 24, 48 in the pots 10 may be
performed either easily before or after the potting process.

[0041]Therefore, while the presently preferred form of the conservation
plant pot has been shown and described, and several modifications thereof
discussed, persons skilled in this art will readily appreciate that
various additional changes and modifications may be made without
departing from the spirit of the invention, as defined and differentiated
by the following claims.